Watching her, Joe decided it was time he jumped into this since the boys had come to him for help. He went down on his haunches so he was eye level with the twins, casually draping an arm around each slender shoulder, drawing the boys close. “Let me ask you something, boys. When Bobby Dawson was teasing you, did he happen to mention that his dad is a surgeon and can’t play baseball because he can’t hurt his hands?”
Cody frowned for a moment, then giggled. “You mean, kinda like a girl?”
“Or our mom?” Connor added with a giggle of his own.
“Kinda,” Joe admitted with a smile. He glanced up at Mattie, surprised to find a faint blush shadowing her cheeks. At least she had a sense of humor about her…shortcomings, he thought in amusement. Not all women did.
His gaze caught hers and he had to draw a quick intake of breath. She was definitely having an impact on him, one he wasn’t entirely comfortable with, but he had to admit, Mattie Maguire had impressed the hell out of him.
And she was much more than just a pretty face. She’d handled a very delicate situation with patience, calm and humor. Obviously there were some family problems or issues here, but she seemed to be focusing on the one thing—the only thing that mattered at the moment—her sons’ feelings. Clearly, this was one woman who understood about putting family first.
Shifting his gaze, Joe smiled at the boys. “And did Bobby Dawson also happen to mention that you don’t need a dad to learn how to play baseball?”
Connor and Cody exchanged glances, then shrugged, their shoulders moving almost in unison. Clearly this was not a thought that had occurred to them.
“Nah,” Connor said, eyes wide as he looked at his brother with a “who knew” expression and another shrug.
“You don’t?” Cody asked, scratching his head and looking at Joe for confirmation.
“Nope,” he said with a grin, drawing the boys even closer. “No dad required.” He grinned at the look on the boys’ faces. “And uh…did Bobby ever mention that it wasn’t his dad who taught him how to play baseball?”
Mattie didn’t have a clue where the man was going with this, but she didn’t care. She could have thrown her arms around him and kissed him simply for making her boys feel better about themselves and their situation.
Scowling, and thinking, Connor scratched his head. “If Bobby’s dad didn’t teach him how to play baseball, then who did?”
“Yeah, who did?” Cody mimicked, scratching his own head again.
Joe grinned. “The manager and head coach of the Healing Harbor Little League.” At the boys’ twin frowns, he explained. “The manager is the man who is in charge of all the different baseball teams, including the T-ball league. And as head coach of the entire league, he coaches everyone, including the other coaches and especially the kids.”
Both boys’ eyes widened in awe. “So he’s gotta know lots and lots about baseball, right?” Cody asked, excitement building in his expression.
“That’s right,” Joe confirmed. “He probably knows more about baseball than anyone else in town.”
“Maybe in the world,” Cody said, grinning widely.
Touched beyond measure by his kindness, and especially his understanding of the delicate situation she was facing, Mattie managed to smile at Joe, grateful in spite of her own feelings about the man. “Sheriff, do you—”
“It’s Joe,” he corrected with a patient sigh, wondering why she refused to use his name.
“Joe,” she began hesitantly. “Do you think if I talked to this coach he might be willing to teach my boys how to play baseball?” Mattie asked hopefully, making Joe grin.
“Would he?” Cody asked, bouncing up and down in excitement and not giving Joe a chance to answer.
“Could he?” Connor asked, grabbing Joe’s arm and bouncing up and down as well, nearly knocking Joe, still on his haunches, off balance.
“I think that can be arranged,” Joe said with a wink. Mattie stared at him for a moment, then realization hit her and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“You’re the head coach?” she asked, dumbfounded. She stared at him for a moment as all the implications of having her boys interact so closely with this man—whom they clearly already had a bad case of hero worship for—set in.
The twins had had very little interaction with adult males. She was the only child of two only children. Other than her great-aunt Maureen she had no other family to interact with the boys.
And she’d certainly not dated or introduced any men into her sons’ lives, so other than their male teachers and their grandfather, Cody and Connor didn’t even know any adult males.
The last thing she wanted was for her children to get too attached to any male who wouldn’t be a permanent part of their lives, especially one they already apparently worshiped. It would be far too easy for the boys to be hurt, something she simply couldn’t and wouldn’t allow.
“Guilty as charged,” Joe admitted. “And I’ve been playing baseball with my brothers since I was just about your age,” he added, glancing at the boys.
“You have brothers?” Connor asked in awe.
“Yep. I’ve got three brothers.” Joe grinned at the twins’ expressions. “And four sisters, all of whom can play baseball almost as well as I can.”
“Sisters are girls,” Cody said in dawning horror, making the word girls sound like a terribly fatal disease.
“Girls can’t play baseball,” Connor announced smugly.
Joe laughed, ruffling Connor’s hair. “I don’t suggest you say that within earshot of any of my sisters, since they can play baseball better than most boys.”
“Will you teach us to play, huh, will you?” Connor all but begged, tilting his head back to meet Joe’s gaze.
“Pul-lease?” Cody pressed his hands together as if in prayer.
“We learn real good,” Connor assured him. “Honest.”
“We got A’s on our papers at school today ’cuz we’re good learners.” Cody poked his brother with his elbow. “Right, Connor?”
“Right.”
Joe laughed at their enthusiasm. They really were adorable. “As long as it’s okay with your mom,” Joe added, glancing at Mattie. He felt that familiar tightening in his gut every time he looked at her. It was just physical attraction, he told himself. Nothing to worry about.
He was an adult, he could handle it. It certainly wasn’t the first time he found himself attracted to a beautiful woman. Just as long as he kept things in perspective, acknowledged his feelings, and then ignored them, he’d be fine.
But Lord, she was definitely a looker. She was slender and petite, her long, tanned legs as sexily bare as her feet. The pair of ragged jean shorts she wore hit her right about her shapely thighs, only emphasizing the curves of her gorgeous legs. A pullover top in a shade of melon that caressed the curve of her breasts and highlighted her ivory complexion nearly had him tripping over his tongue.
A riot of apricot curls, her hair tumbled down to brush her shoulders. Her eyes were huge, and a deep, rich blue fringed by thick, inky-black lashes. Her nose was small, upturned and dusted with freckles. A sweetheart bow, bare, her mouth glistened with some kind of shiny, wet stuff that his sisters always told him was designed to make a guy wonder what a woman tasted like.
Well, it worked, he thought, letting his gaze settle on her mouth for a moment. He was wondering all right and it scared the daylights out of him. Looking was fine, he told himself again. But anything else was out of bounds.
“Mom?” Two sets of crystal-blue eyes filled with hope and happiness beseeched her and Mattie sighed at all the implications of involving this man in their lives might bring. She didn’t know him, not really, and sheriff or not, she needed to know a great deal more about him before allowing him to interact with her children. Overprotective she might be, but it came with the territory.
“I think this is something the sheriff and I need to discuss in private,” she said carefully, aware the boys were waiting for he
r answer with baited breath. When Joe’s eyebrows went up in surprise, she rushed on. “I’m sure the sheriff is a very busy man and we want to make sure we don’t impose on his time.”
“It’s no imposition,” Joe said, cocking his head to study her. From the suspicion shadowing her eyes, and her comments, he had a feeling she didn’t give one whit about his time.
Something more was at stake here. Clearly, this was a woman who didn’t particularly like or trust men. Or maybe it was just him.
“And I’d love to do it,” Joe added pointedly. “I’ve taught a lot of kids in town to play ball.” He shrugged. “I consider it part of my job as head coach.”
Her eyes cooled and she basically ignored his offer as she dropped a hand to each twin’s shoulder in a clearly protective gesture. “This is a big commitment, boys, not just of your time, but also a commitment of responsibility. I just think there’re some…things we need to be clear on before we commit to something this…involved.” Her gaze shifted to Joe, her message clear. She wasn’t about to give this stranger, no matter how kind he’d been to the boys, carte blanche, not where her sons were concerned.
“I understand,” Joe said. “And I think it’s a good idea to consider the idea carefully, particularly since it requires parental involvement as well.” Her eyebrows went up and he rushed on. “In a T-ball league, we rely heavily on parental involvement and participation. You’ll be required to not only participate, but also to attend practices and games and help out as much as possible.”
Mattie stared at him coolly. She didn’t want to be involved with this man on any level.
He scared the blasted daylights out of her.
Having her sons spend time with him was one kettle of fish, but having to spend time with him herself was quite another, and frankly, Mattie knew herself well enough to know she was just plain…terrified by the way he made her feel, something she hadn’t done in so long she was surprised she was still capable of feeling.
Terrific, Mattie thought glumly. If she refused now, it would seem as if she wasn’t willing to support her boys. So he’d think she wasn’t just a chicken, but a nonsupportive chicken!
Unfazed by the absolute panic that flashed across her face, Joe glanced at his watch. “Since it’s almost dinnertime, why don’t we discuss the details over a pizza?”
Perhaps if she got to know him better, got to see him as a part of the community, and see him as part of a family, since a person couldn’t go anywhere in town without tripping over someone in his family, maybe she wouldn’t be quite so suspicious of him, Joe mused, and would know he was not only the kind of man to trust, but also had only her kids’ best interests at heart. It was worth a try, Joe decided, for the boys’ sake.
“If this is something you’d like to proceed with, there’s a lot we need to discuss and we don’t have a lot of time,” he went on. “I have to give you a practice schedule, arrange for uniform pickups and then have you sign all the permission and insurance forms. We have our first parents’ meeting on Thursday evening…it’s mandatory,” he added, sensing she was just about to tell him she couldn’t attend. “And our first team meeting is on Friday evening.” He smiled at the boys. “Also mandatory.”
At the cloud of confusion that filled the boys’ eyes at the strange word, Joe bent down on his haunches again to speak directly to them.
“Mandatory just means you have to be there if you want to play and be part of the team.”
Cody’s and Connor’s faces brightened immediately. “Kinda like school,” Cody offered with a grin. “We gotta go even if we don’t want to.”
“Exactly,” Joe agreed with a chuckle. “We start practice on Tuesday of next week, and our first official game is the following Saturday morning.” His gaze shifted to Mattie. “So you see, this is something you need to make a decision about rather quickly.”
Quickly. Mattie swallowed hard and wanted to groan. Rarely did she ever make a decision regarding her boys—or anything else—quickly. But perhaps in this case she would have to make an exception.
“Now, Mattie, what about that pizza?” Joe watched her, trying not to be amused by the sheer fear on her face. He could understand that look if he’d asked her to…maybe forsake her firstborn child, but all he’d asked was for her to share a pizza with him so they could discuss the boys joining the baseball team, surely a harmless endeavor meant merely to give them a chance to talk in private. So why on earth was she so frightened?
Mattie wanted to give him a quick, definitive answer. A resounding no! The idea of having to spend time with this man alone, without the barrier of her sons or anything else between them was totally intimidating, and not something she really wanted or was really willing to do. But she couldn’t very well discuss her concerns about the boys in front of the boys—which meant she’d have to be alone with Joe.
And the thought terrified her. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been alone with a man, and she wasn’t certain she even remembered how to handle herself with a man.
She glanced up at him and felt a familiar tightening in her gut. She certainly didn’t need to be reminded of the fact that she was still a normal, healthy young woman with normal needs and desires, and being in Joe’s presence seemed to be a constant reminder, one she wasn’t at all comfortable with.
She had to remember, she may be a healthy young woman, but she was first and foremost a mother. That was her primary responsibility and took precedence over everything. Including her own feelings.
“I don’t think—”
“Pul-lease, Ma, pul-lease?” Cody begged, grabbing her hand and tugging on it.
“We want to get started right away,” Connor said, grabbing her other hand.
“’Cuz the first game is next Saturday, and that’s only a week away.”
“And we only got two more months of school,” Cody added with urgency. “So we gotta learn quick so we can play in the big game at the end of the year.”
Looking at the twins’ faces, Mattie’s spirits sunk. She knew in spite of her own reservations and fears, she couldn’t refuse to at least consider and discuss this for the boys’ sake. This meant far too much to them. She’d simply have to handle the situation and her own fears and check Joe and the situation out, like it or not.
“Okay,” she finally said reluctantly, earning a whoop from her sons and praying her knees would stop knocking at the thought of being alone with this man. “But I have an early class in the morning and need to get home early,” she added pointedly, looking at Joe and making it clear this was not a social situation. Definitely not a social situation.
But a parental situation.
She’d merely think of this as just another meeting, like…a PTA meeting. She could handle that. The mere thought lightened her mood and her pulse finally calmed down.
She’d go with Joe, learn a little bit more about him, at least enough to calm some of her fears about having her boys interact so closely with him, discuss the situation and her concerns about her sons and then come straight home. It would also give her time to consider all the ramifications. Hopefully this would be the last time she had to deal one-on-one with him.
“Great,” Joe said with a smile. The twins’ mother might not care for him, he thought, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from doing something that would make the boys so happy. He remembered what it was like to lose his dad when he was so young. Remembered too how keenly he’d felt the loss of his dad, and how different he felt from all the other kids who had fathers.
If he could do something—one small thing—to help the Maguire twins fit in and feel less vulnerable and more confident in themselves, not to mention stop them from getting teased at school, then he was going to do his best to help. He’d been where they are, and so had his brothers…he knew how important fitting in at school and just being one of the guys meant.
“I promise to get you home by eight,” he said, flashing her a smile that made Mattie highly suspicious again.
“And since it’s a school night, we’ll even have a pizza delivered for the boys.”
“Fine,” she said stiffly, shoving her hair back off her face and trying to ignore what that megawatt smile did to her pulse. “But I’ll have to ask my aunt Maureen to watch the boys.” She glanced down at herself again. “And I’ll have to change. I can’t—”
“You look fine,” Joe said, his eyes glittering as they went over her again. He felt almost punchy every time he looked at her. She had to be one of the most beautiful women he’d ever encountered, with the kind of looks that tangled a man’s brain. “Beautiful, in fact.”
Mattie wanted to shiver at the tone of his voice. It was far too personal, making her feel his words as if they were a warm caress slithering over her skin, warming her. It would be a mite embarrassing to have her heart come right through her chest, she figured, but if he didn’t quit looking at her like that—talking to her like that, that’s exactly what she feared was going to happen.
What was it about this man that made her respond so foolishly? she wondered, studying him for a moment. Okay, he was the proverbial tall, dark and handsome, but she’d met a lot of good-looking men over the years, and just as easily and quickly dismissed them without thought.
She had a sneaky feeling this man was different; that she couldn’t dismiss him quite so easily. Probably because there was something else here, something far more important, at least to her: he was kind. To her children. Mattie sighed. She always was a sucker for a man who could be kind to children. Especially her children.
But that was no reason to have her swooning at this guy’s feet. She had to get a grip. She was an adult, the mother of two, she didn’t have time to be acting or responding like a lovesick schoolgirl because of some gorgeous guy who’d had a kind word for her boys.
But, in all honesty, she couldn’t remember the last time a man had complimented her, and she realized it was nice. A wonderful ego boost to know that a man still found her attractive, even when she was dressed in old clothes without a drop of makeup on.
Her pulse sped up at the look in his eyes. It was pure masculine appreciation and made her wonder just how long it had been since this guy had seen a woman. If the way he was looking at her was any indication, it had been a while.
Daddy Patrol Page 3
